The Beginning (1)
Dan U-ryeong was a truly remarkable craftsman. He completed the skeleton of the collapsed building in the blink of an eye. The architectural methods of this era differed greatly from those of the modern world. After finishing the wooden framework, Dan U-ryeong summoned Kang Yeon.
"Hey~ You here?"
Answering the call, Kang Yeon looked up at the completed inn frame and let out a quiet whistle of admiration.
"Fast as ever. Still, I didn't think you'd actually tear the whole place down and start from scratch."
"There's an old saying—new wine goes in new skins. And it's not just speed. The craftsmanship's flawless too. Once we slap some flesh on that skeleton, the exterior's done. Which is why I'm calling in a favor starting now."
"Fine by me. It's been a while since we worked in sync."
Color flooded Dan U-ryeong's face.
"Heh heh… Looks like we're about to build the sturdiest inn in the world."
"Materials?"
"All ready. Bring the stuff over, everyone!"
At Dan U-ryeong's shout, the hired laborers hauled over the bricks meant for the outer walls. He directed them to stack everything in one place.
Thud. Thud.
Once the bricks were piled high, the laborers stood there staring blankly at Dan U-ryeong, waiting for the next order.
"Good work. Could you all step back for a moment?"
They exchanged puzzled glances and retreated. Normally, bricklaying began the instant the frame went up—sometimes even while the frame was still rising. Yet Dan U-ryeong had focused solely on raising the skeleton and had not laid a single brick.
Of course, the work itself had been so precise and astonishing that the laborers had already been left speechless more than once. The finished frame of the inn was nothing short of perfect. Men who had worked on countless buildings and inns across Hangzhou found themselves marveling at every detail of Dan U-ryeong's design and technique.
"Yeon, let's start."
Kang Yeon casually stretched a hand toward the stacked bricks. A soft, luminous force spilled from his fingertips and wrapped around them. The entire pile rose into the air as one.
"G-good heavens…"
"What in the world…"
The laborers stood open-mouthed, staring at the floating bricks. Kang Yeon flicked his wrist lightly. The bricks shot forward and began packing themselves neatly into the spaces between the beams.
Thock. Thud-thud.
Soft flames flickered to life between the newly settled bricks. When the fire died away, the masonry had fused solid. Kang Yeon withdrew his energy and glanced at Dan U-ryeong.
"Well? Enough for now?"
"More than enough. I've always thought it, but your power is pure cheating."
Just now Kang Yeon had used the power of fire to compress the bricks, dramatically increasing their hardness. The inn could now shrug off ordinary impacts without so much as a hairline crack. Whether that even counted as martial arts was debatable—yet with Kang Yeon, it simply felt inevitable.
A sharp light kindled in Dan U-ryeong's eyes as he regarded his friend. The craftsman's ambition long dormant in his chest stirred and lifted its head.
"Yeon, you know how I feel. With that power alone we could surpass the Divine Device Sect and establish the Daesingimun—the greatest craftsman's lineage in the history of the Central Plains. And together we could raise buildings no one has ever even dreamed of…"
"Save the speech. Exterior's finished with this, right?"
Kang Yeon cut him off. Dan U-ryeong clicked his tongue.
"Yeah. Just the outer decorations and the interior left. The laborers can handle that."
"Good. Then let's head to the kitchen."
Dan U-ryeong gave the remaining tasks to the workers—mostly arranging wooden furnishings for the exterior and interior. From the laborers' point of view the leftover work barely justified a full day's wage. Yet, strangely enough, exactly enough work remained to match the pay they had already received.
"Huh… weird."
"Thought we'd be done early, but nope…"
Creak.
Kang Yeon and Dan U-ryeong stepped inside the inn and made straight for the most important space of all: the kitchen. Like the rest of the building, only the bare skeleton stood waiting.
Kang Yeon swept his gaze around the interior.
"Hmm… Time to dress the place up."
Of every room in the inn, this was the one he intended to pour the most care into. For a cook, the kitchen was everything. Even the old inn he had left behind had received special attention; now that they were building anew, he wanted it even better. Besides, he had stockpiled any number of things against the day he would finally return here for good.
Swoosh.
Kang Yeon reached into empty air. Space rippled faintly; he thrust his hand deeper and drew out a massive cast-iron cauldron first.
"This goes on the stove."
Dan U-ryeong's eyes sparkled as he let out a breathless sound.
"Wait—that thing…"
"Right. Made of Meteoric Iron."
"Unbelievable. You carted off every scrap of the stuff, and all this time I wondered what you needed it for… You used it to make that?"
Back when bloody storms still swept through the Murim of the Central Plains, a meteor had fallen from the heavens. Orthodox sects, the Demonic Cult, and the unorthodox factions had fought savagely over the Meteoric Iron. A weapon forged from it, placed in the hand of any absolute master, could have tipped the entire war.
That bloodbath had ended one day without warning. And the very Meteoric Iron that had caused it had been reborn in Kang Yeon's hands as kitchen tools.
"'Just that'? Good cooking needs good tools."
More implements continued to emerge from the empty air. The sight of objects materializing from nothing should have been astonishing, yet Dan U-ryeong watched as though it were routine. Still, every time the real shock was the same: enough Meteoric Iron to forge peerless weapons had all become cookware.
"All right… That's every tool we need. Time to place them."
Kang Yeon moved to arrange the Meteoric Iron utensils. The inn's exterior was finished, but the interior layout was still incomplete.
Swoosh.
Once more he reached into the air. From the shimmering space he pulled a large leather sack. Inside, faintly glowing chunks of stone nestled together.
Dan U-ryeong recoiled in pure shock.
"Hhk!! Is that—?"
"Exactly what you're thinking. Blue Steel Stone."
"You still had some left? I thought we used every last piece when we built the Thunder Prison!"
At the mention of the Thunder Prison, Kang Yeon's brow tightened slightly.
"Let's not bring that place up if we can help it. You never know who might be listening."
Dan U-ryeong flinched.
"Ah… sorry. More importantly, what's the story with that?"
"I set a little aside for the kitchen. Just this one sack."
Dan U-ryeong gave a hollow laugh.
"Don't tell me you're going to…"
"Right. Coat the stove and the kitchen walls with it."
Blue Steel Stone. An extraordinarily hard material; lining the kitchen walls with it would make them virtually indestructible. More than that, it would create the most efficient cooking environment imaginable.
Woom.
Kang Yeon sent a thread of energy into the leather sack. In an instant the Blue Steel Stone inside crumbled into fine powder. Watching something so hard reduced to dust so easily, Dan U-ryeong could only gasp.
"I'll be damned…"
Kang Yeon closed his eyes and pictured the finished kitchen in his mind. The powder of Blue Steel Stone scattered outward, arranging itself according to the structure he envisioned.
Whoosh—!
Flames erupted from his hands, filling the space with intense heat. Dan U-ryeong yelped and hastily raised his own internal energy to shield himself—not that Kang Yeon's power would ever harm him, but better safe than sorry. The fire-qi Kang Yeon had summoned fused the Blue Steel Stone powder into solid form.
Woom.
Next he called upon the power of wind, cooling the superheated stone. Looking over the stove and kitchen structures now sheathed in Blue Steel Stone, Kang Yeon smiled in quiet satisfaction.
"Good. That should do it."
Dan U-ryeong let out another disbelieving laugh.
"Sh-should do it?? Even if the Murim Alliance Lord or the Demonic Alliance Lord came in here and threw a tantrum, they wouldn't leave a single crack."
"Better sturdy than not. This inn's going to be passed down for generations."
"So… are we finished?"
Kang Yeon shook his head.
"We haven't even started."
He reached into the air yet again. Rare and precious materials poured out of the shimmering space.
"Flame Stone… Ice Plum Essence… even Night-Luminous Pearls… Wait…"
Watching the treasures appear one after another, Dan U-ryeong grew dizzy and staggered. With that much wealth he could have sold everything and instantly ranked among the richest men in the Central Plains. So why was Kang Yeon burying every last treasure inside an inn?
From Dan U-ryeong's perspective it made no sense at all.
Woooom. Woooooorn.
Meanwhile Kang Yeon was already placing each treasure in its pre-planned position. Every one of them would serve a superb purpose in the kitchen—possible only because Kang Yeon himself would be the one using them. He intended to make the West Lake Number One Inn not merely a name, but the genuine finest inn in the land.
Just imagining the dishes he would cook here and the guests who would flock to taste them already filled him with excitement.
"Perfect. Absolutely perfect."
"Hey, Yeon."
"Hmm? What?"
"You really are planning to make mon~ey by running a business, right?"
Kang Yeon shrugged.
"Well… ultimately, yes. Cook good food, attract more customers, and the money follows."
"Then these treasures…"
"No. That's different. Completely different method. Selling them for cash would break a promise I made to myself."
"Who's even watching?"
Kang Yeon's expression turned serious.
"Someone you don't know is watching."
With the kitchen's internal structure complete, he set the Meteoric Iron cauldrons into place. Resting one atop the stove, he sparked a small flame to test it.
Whoosh—!
Fire roared up from beneath and began heating the cauldron. In this era, just as with traditional Chinese cuisine, fierce heat was essential. Watching the Meteoric Iron cauldron glow, Kang Yeon nodded.
"Firepower check complete."
He arranged the remaining tools in positions that felt natural for cooking. Jo Hwan would probably fine-tune everything once he arrived, but for now the kitchen was clean and ready—ready enough that they could start cooking as early as tomorrow if they wanted. Watching Kang Yeon lose himself so completely in the work of organizing, Dan U-ryeong realized he had never seen this side of his friend before.
"Hah… Everything's in place."
Satisfied at last, Kang Yeon looked around the finished kitchen.
"Good. My part's done."
He turned to Dan U-ryeong.
"Just the interior finishing and furniture placement left. How long will that take?"
Under that intense gaze, Dan U-ryeong flinched. The will to open the inn at the earliest possible moment burned clearly in Kang Yeon's eyes.
"I'll have it finished by tomorrow."